Review: Defy

By Sara B. Larson
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy

Alexa Hollen is an orphan girl, which means she's supposed to go to the breeding houses and produce more soldiers.  (It's just as gross as it sounds.)  Luckily, her twin brother is a quick thinker and helped her disguise herself as a boy.  They're now in the prince's guard together, Marcel still helping her keep her gender a secret and Alex ever becoming a better fighter.

The background of DEFY is war.  Antion, the country Alex and Marcel live in, has long been at war with Blevon.  (I might be spelling these place names wrong.  It definitely took some time to figure out what was what.)  Alex has good reason to hate Blevon, since one of their sorcerers killed her mother and father.  At the same time, what we're shown of Antion makes it out to be anything but clearly in the right.  Breeding. Houses.  Therefore, we come to the fact that Alex is in charge of keeping the heir to the throne safe.

DEFY is clearly meant to be compared to GRACELING.  They slapped an all-but-identical cover on it and called it a day.  And yes, there are many points of comparison: a heroine who is a talented fighter, questions of duty and loyalty, a journey in which romance blossoms.  I can't help but feel that DEFY would come off better if I came to those comparisons naturally instead of having them shoved in my face.  I like Alex, but she's no Katsa.

I  have a major weakness for heroines who crossdress as boys.  (It predates reading Tamora Pierce's Alanna books, but those certainly don't help.)  However, DEFY is a bit of a letdown in that measure.  Alex gets out of her closest calls through her brother's quick thinking.  She binds her breasts, but apparently her hips don't exist.  With the number of people who call her "pretty," it's hard to believe it was ever a secret.  (The narrative doesn't help much with the suspension of disbelief.)

There are things that DEFY does very well.  I find its portrait of grief convincing.  Antion is not a place to show your weaknesses, so Alex must try to keep her emotions under wraps.  When the worst happens, it leaves her upset and unbalanced and often blindsided by the hurt since she keeps repressing it.  Also, she tends to repress it straight into violence, which might not be the best reaction, but it is an understandable one. 

I also thought that the plot was interesting and buoyed by several fight scenes.  There are lots of secret plans and double crosses to uncover.  The story reaches a satisfying conclusion, although there are little threads left open.  I believe DEFY is the start of a series, but it would stand fine on its own.  As is, there's enough to convince me to crack open a second book.

Now we come to what will make or break many readers: the love triangle.  Alex has had a bit of a crush on fellow guard Rylan for awhile, but she finds herself falling for Prince Damian, who has been hiding his true self beneath a spoiled act to keep his father happy.  Both guys clearly like her back.  It's not terrible, but it's just so obvious that Rylan has zero chance.  The only thing that really saves it for me is that Larson brings it to an unusual conclusion . . . for now.

DEFY is a decent debut.  I think Larson showed us the edges of an interesting, complicated world.  (I definitely liked that there was a variety of skin tones between the two countries.)  It would be nice to see her dive deeper in subsequent novels.  DEFY spins together many tropes I thoroughly enjoy, which made it a fun reading experience.  But it never quite dug into those tropes to emerge with something truly original.  Still, I expect this book to do well, and it will appeal to fans of GRACELING waiting for a new Kristin Cashore book.

Review: Fic

Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World
By Anne Jamison
Foreward by Lev Grossman
Essays by Cyndy Aleo, V. Arrow, Tish Beaty, Brad Bell, Amber Benson, Peter Berg, Kristina Busse, Rachel Caine, Francesca Coppa, Randi Flanagan, Jolie Fontenot, Wendy C. Fries, Ron Hogan, Bethan Jones, Christina Lauren, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Samira Nadkarni, Rukmini Pande, Chris Rankin, Tiffany Reisz, Andy Sawyer, Andrew Shaffer, Heidi Tandy, Darren Wershler, Jules Wilkinson, Jen Zern
Available now from Smart Pop (BenBella)
Review copy

Based on the long list of names above, I assumed that FIC: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World was a collection of academic essays edited by Anne Jamison.  But no, it is a long scholarly work by Anne Jamison with periodic short essays by other people with various perspectives on fandom has a whole.

FIC is divided into sections based on several megafandoms.  The first four, on Sherlock, Star Trek, Buffy, and the X-Files, are fairly well done.  Sherlock and Star Trek both cover a great deal of pre-internet fanfiction, while Buffy and the X-Files cover the beginning of fic on the internet.  The Harry Potter and Twilight sections are shakier.  I felt that Harry Potter went by quicker than the other sections, and glossed over some things.  Jamison glosses over Cassandra Claire's plagiarism (the most important being several pages of Pamela Dean's writing), trying to make it just a game and pulling out the old fic is basically plagiarism anyway. (It isn't.)  There's an essay from Heidi8/Heidi Tandy that presents her as a totally reliable point of view instead of a figure frequently at the heart of controversy.

Then we get to Twilight.  Jamison is clearly too close to the fandom to really give a good portrait.  She is very clearly in favor of pull-to-publish, or P2P.  The other side of the argument is given short shrift in favor of several essays by people who agree with Jamison's point of view.  In fact, the authors of BEAUTIFUL BASTARD get an essay together in addition to individual essays.

But I must say that the essays are the best part of FIC.  The essay authors make fewer pretenses about their biases and only focus on the narrow aspects of fandom that they are experts in.  Jamison shows some of her ignorance just by what she chooses to include.  Her megafandoms only include Western sources.  The only fandoms represented are literature, television, and film.  And why not throw in some discussion of small-to-medium fandoms?  I read this book in December as Yuletide was happening.  Now there's a big event that shows a wonderful slice of small fandoms all at once, albeit also mostly Western focused.

I was quite disappointed in FIC.  I'm all for people taking a scholarly approach to fandom.  But this is quite slipshod.  The style isn't that great, either.  The Sherlock section constantly makes reference to a fic that isn't excerpted.  Am I supposed to stop reading FIC and track down this story and read it before continuing?  As for when Jamison does excerpt fics, her glowing introductions generally leave me with secondhand embarrassment.  Don't tell me that a fairly pedestrian set of sentences are going to totally make me see Edward and Bella in a new postmodern sex positive light.

There's some interesting history in here.  But take Jamison's point of view with a grain of salt.

Sponsored Post: Grammarly

I use Grammarly's online grammar check because the technology to implant a second pair of eyes into my skull doesn't exist yet.  Let's face it: we often overlook our own flaws.

I'm a big believer in grammar.  I spent a couple of years subsisting on freelance copy editing while I looked for a full time job, and my current job involves a large amount of copy editing.  And you know what?  My job pays well.  When I'm freelancing, I often charge $50 an hour (or the equivalent in dollars per page/cents per word).  And you know why I can charge that?  Because it is a specialized skill.  Because you have to keep the rules in your head, have access to good resources, and be able to use your common sense about when the author is breaking the rules well.

I'm very good at it.  It's still hard to apply that skill to my own writing sometimes.

In addition to being a second pair of eyes, Grammarly is a good resource to help build your grammar skills.  When you run your text through the program, it breaks down the issues.  No trying to decode a green squiggly line.  It might point out style, or structure, punctuation, or spelling.  (And unlike Word, it checks spelling in context.)

Another useful feature is that Grammarly checks for plagiarism.  As Shia LaBeouf has demonstrated recently, some people have difficultly with the concept.  Or perhaps you're just subconsciously repeating a phrasing - still useful.

If you're interested, just click on the link in the first sentence.  There is a seven-day free trial.

Cybils: The Finalists (plus some personal honorable mentions)

The Cybils finalists were announced yesterday!  I am very proud of the list developed by the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction panel, which included me, Charlotte, Stephanie, Kristen, Melissa, Cecelia, and Brandy.  The judges will have a hard decision!

Here's the list of our finalists:

• JINX by Sage Blackwood (my review)
• Lockwood & Co: THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE by Jonathon Stroud
• ROSE by Holly Webb (my review)
• SIDEKICKED by John David Anderson
• THE RITHMATIST by Brandon Sanderson
• THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP by Kathi Appelt (my review)
• THE WATER CASTLE by Megan Frazer Blackmore

Covers and blurbs by the panel available on the Cybils website.

Kristen wrote some about four books she loved that didn't make it, and I'd like to do the same.

THE VENGEKEEP PROPHECIES by Brian Farrey (illustrated by Brett Helquist) - This is the story of Jaxter, a clumsy boy born into a long line of accomplished thieves.  But his family out-clevers themselves, leaving Jaxter and his new friend Callie to go on a quest to save Vengekeep.  This is an extremely fun book that will appeal to a variety of young readers.  And I always enjoy stories where bookishness helps save the day!

SKY JUMPERS by Peggy Eddleman - Read my full review here.  In my opinion, this book was a real unexpected gem.  I can see it encouraging kids to get deeper into science fiction, environmental issues, and invention.  Hope is the worst inventor in her community, which relies on the population's inventions to return to life before WWIII.  But she has other skills which are important when their community is invaded for their medicine.

THE REAL BOY by Anne Ursu (illustrated by Erin McGuire) - Read my full review here.  This little charmer, about presumably autistic Oscar, had one real obstacle: this was a great year for fantasies about magician's apprentices.  That doesn't mean that this story doesn't hold a large amount of appeal for children and adults.  It's got terrific atmosphere and a thoughtful story.

HOW I BECAME A GHOST by Tim Tingle - Isaac's journey on the Trail of Tears is brutal, but still appropriate for younger readers.  His foreknowledge of his own death helps both him and the reader accept it before the inevitable happens.  It's a hard, healing look at history. The presence of a boy who can turn into a jaguar and a (possibly talking) dog will entice kids who would turn up their noses at less fantastical historical fiction.

A TANGLE OF KNOTS by Lisa Graff - Read my full review here.  I nominated this one; of course I'm fond of it!  Young baker Cady is at the center of this story, but her journey entwines with nearly everyone around her.  I loved how all the little pieces came together to create one neat, satisfying whole.  Plus, recipes.

Be sure to check out the other finalists!  I'm particularly happy that several books I nominated made it to the next round.  And that I now have a great list of other books to read, obviously.

Review: Palace of Spies

First in the Palace of Spies series
By Sarah Zettel
Available now from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR
Review copy

PALACE OF SPIES is a zippy historical set slightly before the Regency period, in the court of King George.  Peggy Fitzroy, the heroine, is an orphan who is thrown out of her uncle's house when she refuses the marriage he sets up for her.  (And not for a small reason either; her fiance attempts to rape her.)

Fortunately for Peggy, she's recruited to take the place of Lady Francesca.  She'll be a lady-in-waiting to Princess Catherine and report what she sees to a trio with unknown motives.  But Peggy is suspicious and curious about the girl she's imitating.  As secrets of Lady Francesca's life start to come to life, Peggy suspects that she didn't die of illness.  And Peggy could be next if she can't put everything together.

While quite frothy, PALACE OF SPIES has a strong grounding in real history.  It's almost a mini-lesson in Georgian social customs and the Jacobites.  It's a nice blend that will appeal to history fans as well as those who just like a pretty background of elaborate dresses and wartime spies.

There are some issues.  The premise stretches credulity quite far.  Not even Lady Francesca's best friend or lover notice she's been replaced by a completely different girl.  The romance plotline is underdeveloped.  And, well, the spying isn't that action packed.  All of the true action really comes at the end of the novel.  I enjoyed the setting and the character interaction, but PALACE OF SPIES is a more subdued novel than I expected, given the title and cover.

I enjoyed PALACE OF SPIES and think it is a good start to a mystery series.  There's a likeable detective, a detailed setting, and plenty of opportunity for intrigue.